


The Silent Flame

by darkphantomrose



Category: Dark-Hunter Series - Sherrilyn Kenyon, KENYON Sherrilyn - Works
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Paranormal, Regency, Romance, Shapeshifting, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 08:37:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4298028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkphantomrose/pseuds/darkphantomrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ilarion Konstantinus, a Katagarian Dragon, angers the Fates by using magic to search for his fated mate, they then inform him that his mate is a human. Having been enslaved by humans when he was young, Ilarion's distrust and hatred of humans runs deep. When he discovers that his mate is Carina Drake, a governess in 1817 England, he must strive to overcome his prejudice towards humans while earning her trust and hopefully her love in return.<br/>Fanfiction, based off of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter Series.<br/>Rated Mature for Adult Content & Some Language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summary, Disclaimer & Notes

Full Summary

Ilarion Konstantinus, a Katagarian dragon, angers the Fates by using magic to search for his fated mate, they then inform him that his mate is a human. Having been enslaved by humans when he was young, Ilarion's distrust and hatred of the human race runs deep. When he discovers that his mate is Carina Drake, a governess in 1817 England, he must strive to overcome his prejudice while earning her trust, and hopefully her love, in return.

Carina Drake, orphaned at twenty one, was forced to find a post as a governess. Though her situation in life dictates that she should be a sensible and level headed woman, her underlying romantic nature is captivated when she encounters a mysterious man in the woods one afternoon. Walking the tight rope between propriety and desire, Carina longs to trust Ilarion but her experience of the world has taught her to be wary.

Meanwhile a dark presence is lurking, stirred to watchfulness by the dragon's presence.

This is a Fanfiction based off of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter Series. However, it is not necessary for you to be familiar with the Dark-Hunter series to read this story. Though the background for some of the story comes from that series, the main storyline is original.

Disclaimer

I do not own or claim any part of Sherrilyn Kenyon's fabulous Dark-Hunter world, or any of her characters. Any recognizable characters or storyline belong to Sherrilyn Kenyon, the only things I own are my original characters and the idea for the original story.

Rating

This story is Rated M, for some language, violence, and adult situations. If any of that offends you please do not read this story.

Author's Notes

Before I start my story I just want to clarify a few things:

I intend for the portions of my story that are set in the Dark-Hunter world, to be as true to what Sherrilyn Kenyon created as I can make it, but I apologize now for any errors that I make.

The majority of my story is original, and set in the Regency Era of England. Though characters, and their origins will be from the Dark-Hunter series, a great deal will be strictly a paranormal romance of my creation.

There will be adult situations in this story, but I intend to keep them tasteful and romantic, like in any good romance novel.

Please review! All constructive criticism is welcome, but this is my first real attempt at writing a story, so please NO flames!

Thank you for reading!

Were-Hunter Terms:

Filos – Family or Pack

Patria – Name for clans of Were-Hunters of the same race and animal genus. The existing Were patria are: Balios (jaguars), Niphetos Pardalia (snow leopards), Drakos (dragons), Panthiras (panthers), Gerakian (hawks, falcons, eagles,), Pardalia (leopards), Helikias (cheetahs), Tigarian (tigers), Litarian (lions), Tsakalis (jackals), Lykos (wolves), and Ursulan (bears).

Metriazo Collar – A thin silver collar designed specifically to control a Were-Hunter's magical powers and to keep them from shifting forms. It is VERY painful, and will eventually kill the wearer. It can only be removed by magic or extreme force.

~ Special Thanks ~

To my dear friend Sophie, I never would have gotten around to writing this without your help and encouragement! Thank You so much!

Now on with the story ...


	2. Chapter One

~Somewhere deep in the mountains of Medieval Norway~

Ilarion Konstantinus sighed and shoved his long hair out of his eyes, he had been so confident that the spell would work! The Katagarian dragon came gracefully to his feet, and stretched to his full six and a half foot height, his muscles cramped and protesting loudly after sitting for so many hours. Upon finding the scrying spell in one of his ancient tomes over a week ago, he had immediately thought of using it to discover the identity of his fated mate. He had planned everything out meticulously, checked and rechecked everything. So what had he done wrong? He would go back over everything and try again tomorrow, one failure would not deter him from his goal. After all it had taken him years to perfect his speech illusion, he thought, rubbing his scared throat. 

He had been captured when he was a dragonet, by the Arcadian dragon who had killed his parents, and bound with a metriazo collar to suppress his magical abilities. The Arcadian gave him to a barbarian chieftain as a trophy, and there he was imprisoned and abused for four long years. Upon his escape he had discovered that the collar had damaged his throat so badly that he would never be able to speak. In his early years the scars had been quite horrific, and his inability to speak had angered and humiliated him. His captivity had instilled in him a fierce hatred of being stared at or whispered about, and that was exactly what his scars and lack of speech caused people to do. 

Determined to conquer his self-perceived weakness, he had spent years cultivating his magical powers, especially mind-speech and illusion. Eventually he was able to converse with anyone through mind-speech, and an illusion made it appear and sound as if he had spoken aloud. At first it had been difficult and tiring, but after countless years of practice it had become as natural as breathing. His magical powers, that were a part of all Were-Hunters, had always been strong and he had honed them relentlessly, until now he was considered to be one of the most powerful Weres in existence. 

Were-Hunters are a race of shape-shifters, split into two branches. The Arcadians, which have human hearts and human base forms; and the Katagaria which have animal hearts and animal base forms. They are descended from the Apollite people, which were cursed by the god Apollo to die horribly on their 27th birthdays. Lycaon, King of Arcadia, strove to save his half Apollite sons from this curse by splicing the essences of Apollites with that of predatory animals. He succeeded, and the resulting race of Were-Hunters were born; blessed with long life, magical powers and time-traveling abilities they were a force to be reckoned with. This circumvention of the curse, displeased the Fates, and they in turn cursed the Arcadians and the Katagaria to constantly distrust and fight one another. 

As an added punishment, and as a way to control the population of such powerful beings, the Fates decreed that they would appoint a chosen mate for each Were-Hunter. Though free to have sex with whomever they wish prior to finding their mate, they are only able to have offspring with their fated mate. However the only way to discover their fated mate is to have sex with them, and then wait to see if a mating mark appears. The mating mark is a beautiful Greek scroll-marking, that burns itself into the palms of the mated male and female. The markings mirror each other exactly, showing paternal lineage and the ancient cipher that can only be read by another Were. Unfortunately if a Were is not inclined to be promiscuous, they have little hope of finding their mate. Besides, even if they slept their way across continents, their race's ability to time travel made the possibilities virtually endless. 

Ilarion felt despair creep in as he thought over the likelihood of actually finding his mate in the face of such odds. She could be anywhere throughout time, and the Fates would still be able to say that they had done their job and provided him with an opportunity to find her. Some Weres would revel in the freedom that being without a mate provided, after all once they found their mate she still had the option to reject them, and if she did he would live the rest of his life celibate as long as she lived. Even if they were accepted by their mate they could never stray from her. Most honorable males had no desire to stray in any case, but often the younger males felt this to be another cruel punishment of the Fates.

The majority of Were-Hunter's live in family groups called patrias, so even if they did not yet have a mate, they still never lacked for companionship. Since Ilarion's parents had been killed when he was very young, and the dragons were among the rarest, as well as the most solitary of the Weres, he had no such comfort. The Katagarian bear, Ektor Sostratos, had rescued him from captivity, raising and mentoring him until he was able to take care of himself, and they had become fast friends. But now that Ektor had found his own mate, a bearswan named Lenae, he had his own family to take care of. Ilarion was welcome of course, but Lenae was uneasy around him; not wishing to cause problems for his old friend he kept his distance. With the absence of his only close friend, Ilarion had been left to brood over finding his own mate, which had led to today's failed scrying attempt.

Gods how he had hoped that for once something would work on the first try! He was ashamed to admit that he had arrogantly not expected to fail. His desire for a mate must have seriously clouded his reasoning, or he would have been prepared to meet with disappointment on the first try, he thought bitterly. He was just so damned lonely. Though he would never willingly admit that to anyone, it did not alter the facts. The growing feeling of cold emptiness had driven him to the point that he was willing to risk displeasing the Fates to find his mate. Damn, he must be getting senile or something, he was thinking like a romantic fool!

Disgusted with himself, and his train of thought, Ilarion turned and walked out of the smaller cave in the back of his lair, where he kept all his human possessions, and into the large outer cavern. He just needed to go out and stretch his wings, and clear his mind he though firmly. Shifting to his base dragon form, he prowled to the mouth of the cave. Just as he was about to walk out onto the ledge and launch into the air, he heard a slight noise behind him and whipped around. He saw three women, dressed all in white, standing in the middle of the cave and glaring daggers at him. The Fates, cold hearted bitches from hell. Damn it. Shifting back to human form, and flashing on clothes as he did so, he crossed his arms over his thickly muscled chest and waited for the storm to break.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Atropos shrieked at him. 

“It didn't work, so you can all just calm down,” he said calmly. 

“CALM DOWN?” Atropos screamed in fury. “You dare to use your powers in an effort to thwart our will, and then have the insolence to tell us to calm down?! We should strike you down where you stand!”

Well that went over well, he thought in resignation. They all looked even more furious than before, and he was fairly certain Atropos was going to burst a blood vessel. 

“You insolent son of a bitch,” Clotho spat venomously, “you will learn that it is not wise to taunt us!” 

Composing herself with a visible effort, Lachesis laid a calming hand on each of her sisters, and stepping forward said icily, “I believe that the most fitting punishment for you, is to tell you what you seem so eager to discover.” 

An icy chill snaked down Ilarion's spine. He didn't like the sound of this, and he liked the gloating looks on their faces even less. 

Smiling with malicious satisfaction Lachesis continued. “Because of your insolence and monumental hubris in trying to ignore Fate, and take matters into your own hands, we shall tell you a part of what you are so impatient to discover. Knowing your hatred of humans and Arcadians, we have long since decreed that you shall be mated to a human, and all your offspring shall be Arcadian. Not that it's likely you will have any, since what sane human woman could be induced to mate with a Katagaria?” By the end of her speech all three of them were smiling cruelly at Ilarion, who had paled in horror as she spoke.

Ilarion stared at them in utter shock, they could not seriously mean this! “That's not possible,” he said firmly, as he fought to remain calm. “Katagaria cannot mate with humans!” 

Atropos smiled coldly, “While it is certainly unusual, nothing is truly impossible in this world, you should certainly know that dragon. Enjoy your Fate!” The three sisters exchanged gloating smiles, joined hands and flashed themselves back to Olympus; leaving only their malicious laughter to echo throughout the cavern eerily for long moments after they were gone.

Ilarion just stared at the spot were they had been, completely stunned. This was not happening to him. He'd wake up soon. It was just a nightmare. But no, not even in his worst nightmare would he think of something like this! He stormed around the cave, cursing the Fates with every epithet and oath he knew. It took quite awhile because he knew a lot of them, and when he had gone through all the ones he knew, he made up some more. Finally running out of creative ideas, he took a few deep breaths and told himself to calm down and think this through. 

He realized he was doing just what those bitches wanted, he was letting his anger control him and not thinking rationally. Well they were going to be disappointed! Sitting down on a pile of furs, he took a firm hold on his temper, and thought about his options. He could ignore this whole thing, and go on with his life. Yet did he really want to continue living like this? After all, this was his one chance to find a mate and have a family. Those few Were's he had heard of finding another mate after their first died, most certainly had not royally pissed off the fates. As much as he disliked the idea of a human mate, and he seriously doubted if said human would ever accept him, he would try to find her and see if there was even the remotest possibility of making it work. But first things first, how to find her? 

He obviously couldn't scry for her, and he didn't have her scent so he couldn't track her. Then it hit him, Acheron! The ex-leader of the Dark-Hunters seemed to know just about everything about everyone, so it was just possible that he might know who and/or where this human might be. And Acheron's hatred for the Fates was well known, so he might welcome the chance to annoy them. Ilarion sighed, he hated having to ask anyone, especially a Dark-Hunter, for anything but he couldn't think of any other options. 

******

~New Orleans, Present Day~ 

Acheron Parthenopaeus sat on a park bench, relaxing and watching the people of New Orleans bustle along, giving him a wide berth of course. He was an intimidating sight, possessing an aura of danger and menace that made mortals and immortals alike, distinctly uneasy. Absurdly tall and sinfully handsome, dressed in goth clothes, with long hair streaked black and red, for the moment, and swirling silver eyes which he kept covered with dark sunshades. He watched with interest as a tall male, instead of keeping a safe distance from him, walked in a purposeful fashion right towards him. Ash smiled with satisfaction, he knew why the Katagarian dragon was here of course, and he was going to enjoy helping him thwart the Fates immensely. 

Stopping directly in front of Ash, Ilarion decided to plunge right in before he could change his mind. “Acheron,” he said with a stiff nod of grudging respect. “I seriously screwed up and royally pissed off the Fates. As my punishment they told me a part of what I was trying to find out; that my fated mate is a human. I have no idea where to start looking for her, and considering how they hold a grudge, I know it's unlikely that they will exert themselves to make sure I meet her.”

Ash grinned at that,“Yeah, it would probably be a couple thousand years if you wait for them to arrange the 'fateful' meeting for you.” 

Ilarion nodded in agreement, “Exactly, I realized that immediately and began trying to think of a way to find her on my own.” A flash of annoyance flickered across his face as he continued, “Well the best I have been able to figure out is to come to you, and so I've come to ask for your help.” Ilarion looked like the words had left a bad taste in his mouth, but Ash didn't take offense, he knew how much it must have burned to ask him for anything. 

Just then they both became aware of a tall, slender young woman walking in their direction, she paused hesitantly when she saw Ilarion. Ash smiled and stood, holding a hand out to her in greeting. Walking quickly towards him, Tory smiled back.

“Sorry if I'm interrupting,” she apologized, “I can go check out that book store I saw on my way back if you want?” 

Ash shook his head in denial, “No, actually Tory I'd like you to meet Ilarion.” He turned back to Ilarion, “Dragon, this is my wife Tory.” 

Ilarion was pleased at being addressed by his animal self, a mark of respect among Were-Hunters, and very interested to meet the woman who was brave enough to marry Acheron. 

Tory smiled warmly at him and held out her hand, “It's nice to meet you Ilarion.” 

Ilarion looked at Ash out of the corner of his eye before taking the offered hand. He knew that newly mated males could be fiercely territorial, and even though Ash wasn't a Were-Hunter he figured the same probably went for males of all species. The only thing he detected in Ash's face was amusement when he caught the sidelong look aimed at him, so Ilarion shook her hand and smiled slightly in return, “I am honored to meet the mate of Acheron,” he said formally. 

Ash laughed, “He doesn't get out much, Tory,” he told his wife, who had looked slightly bemused by the formality. 

Ilarion was a little annoyed, he had been trying to be polite which wasn't something that came easily to him, but he refrained from commenting on their lack of appreciation for his efforts, since Ash was explaining his problem to Tory. By the time she had been fully apprised of the situation Tory was looking quite furious.

“Those bitches just never quit trying to ruin peoples lives do they?” She looked up at Ash, her brown eyes flashing with temper, “Do they live off the pain and suffering they cause, or do they just like to make people miserable?” Before Ash could answer her, she whirled to face Ilarion,“Don't you dare give them the satisfaction of adding you to their list of victories!” 

Ash reached out and pulled her to him, “That's why he's here Sota,” he said soothingly. “You don't have to lecture him.” Slightly mollified, she relaxed against him, and he smiled down at her, feeling a rush of love for her flood his soul, his arms tightening around her involuntarily.

Ilarion felt a pang of envy as he watched them, they obviously loved one another deeply, and seeing it made him ache with longing. Oh yeah, he was definitely becoming a romantic fool, he thought disgustedly. 

Turning his attention back to Ilarion, Ash surveyed him soberly, “This is not going to be easy, you understand that right?” 

When Ilarion only nodded, Ash continued, “Well you definitely have your work cut out for you dragon, as your mate is a governess in 1817 England.” Ash felt a flash of unholy amusement when he saw the dismay written plainly on Ilarion's face. Not giving him a chance to respond Ash continued mercilessly.  
“She will be the first person you see when you arrive in her time. Oh, and you don't owe me anything for this, it is always a pleasure to be able to screw over the Fates' plans!” With those parting words, Acheron flashed Ilarion out of New Orleans and back through time to Regency England. 

Tory turned in Ash's arms so she could look up at him. “You could have given him a chance to catch his breath before you tossed him down the rabbit hole,” she said in a somewhat reproving tone. 

Ash grinned unrepentantly, “If I had he would have just wasted a lot of time arguing with me.”

She shook her head at him, “You are so bad sometimes!” she said sternly, but couldn't repress a smile when she saw the look of self-satisfaction on her husband's face. 

He arched one wicked brow and dropped his hands to cup her lush derriere suggestively, “Want to go home and see just how bad I can be?” Blushing slightly, Tory glanced up at him from under her lashes, and slowly licked her bottom lip. She heard him groan, felt him tighten against her, and the next thing she new they were in their bedroom at home in Katoteros.


End file.
